The Conversation: 2015 Oscar Predix: Still Julianne Moore… Best Actress Win in the Bag

Date:

The Nominations: Best Actress
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Shoulda Been a Contender: Essie Davis for “The Babadook

The effective kernel at the supremely masterful The Babadook is the performance of Essie Davis. Genre films have long been left out of the awards mulch, but it would have been great to see the Academy stop padding out this category with nicely rounded yet milquetoast performances (Wild; The Theory of Everything).

Should Win: Julianne Moore for “Still Alice

It’s true—it’s a great performance that saves an otherwise square film from slipping into banality.

Could Win: None

Unfortunately, it seems there’s little room for surprise in this year’s Best Actress category.

Will Win: Julianne Moore for “Still Alice

Winning every single award show before it including tomorrow’s Indie Spirits, this is one of those year’s where the Best Actress statue will be handled to a veteran that’s been overlooked plenty of times before. She’s one of the very few double nominees to lose both categories (in 2001 for The Hours and Far From Heaven), and she’s been just plain overlooked for sterling work in the past (like a supporting performance in A Single Man).

Nicholas Bell
Nicholas Bell
Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), FIPRESCI, the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2023: The Beast (Bonello) Poor Things (Lanthimos), Master Gardener (Schrader). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.

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